Quantum Enhanced Impulse Measurements with Mechanical Sensors in the Search for Dark Matter

Recent advances in mechanical sensing technologies have led to the suggestion that heavy dark matter candidates around the Planck mass range could be detected through their gravitational interaction alone. To achieve Planck-scale detection, measurements of these devices will need to go beyond the standard quantum limit. Hence we need to employ quantum-enhanced readout techniques for detecting the extremely weak impulses. Here we discuss the different techniques for achieving such quantum-enhanced measurements in optical and microwave domain, which would help us in reducing the measurement-added noise floor in experimentally relevant parameter regimes for reaching our desired sensitivity.